You can freeze formed, unbaked empanadas on a sheet pan before transferring to a freezer bag for longer storage. They’re ready to bake straight from the freezer, just don’t forget the egg wash and finishing salt!
By Brittany Everett
Pork Empanadas
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 mins
- Yield: 24 empanadas 1x
Description
You can freeze formed, unbaked empanadas on a sheet pan before transferring to a freezer bag for longer storage. They’re ready to bake straight from the freezer, just don’t forget the egg wash and finishing salt!
Ingredients
Scale
Filling
- Vegetable oil
- 1 1/4 pounds ground pork
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 poblano peppers, diced
- 2 ears corn, kernels cut off cob
- 2 medium ripe heirloom tomatoes, diced
- 1 jalapeño, minced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- ~1 cup shredded monterrey jack cheese
- 1 egg, beaten
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Dough
- 4 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 2 sticks (1 cup) cold unsalted butter, diced
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup ice water
- 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
Instructions
Dough
- Sift flour and salt into a large bowl. Work the butter into the flour using your fingers or a pastry blender until it resembles a coarse meal.
- In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, water and vinegar. Stir into the dry mixture just until it’s incorporated.
- Flour your hands and the work surface. Lightly knead the dough a few times, cut it in half, and form into two flat discs. Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
Filling and assembly
- Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Add the ground pork and cook until browned. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a plate.
- Lower the heat to medium and add another tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the onion, season with salt and cook for a few minutes, until softened. Add the poblanos and corn kernels; cook for a few more minutes. Add the tomatoes, jalapeño, garlic and a big pinch of salt, stirring until the tomatoes start to release their juices. Add the chili powder, coriander, cumin and oregano, stir for a minute and remove from the heat. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line two baking sheets with parchment. Remove a disk of dough from the fridge and cut into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece out to a 5-6″ circle. Place some of the filling in the center of each circle (I used a scant standard ice cream scoop). Top with a generous pinch of cheese and fold the circle in half, pinching the edge to close. Transfer folded empanadas to a baking sheet. Repeat with the second disc of dough.
- Brush the empanadas with the beaten egg and sprinkle the tops with flaky salt. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Main
I made these. They were great, especially though dough.